NEW DELHI, Apr 7: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval hosted Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman for a dinner meeting on Tuesday, hours after the latter landed in New Delhi for a three-day visit aimed at repairing bilateral ties following more than 18 months of heightened diplomatic tension.
It is the first high-level visit to India by a senior member of the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman that came to power in February following the parliamentary elections.
Various aspects of India-Bangladesh relations figured in the talks between Doval and Rahman with a focus on charting a new momentum in the ties, people familiar with the matter said.
There is no official word on the meeting yet.
Foreign Minister Rahman’s delegation included Humayun Kabir, foreign affairs adviser to the prime minister.
Rahman is scheduled to hold extensive talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday. The Bangladesh foreign minister will also meet Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
Warm welcome to Foreign Minister Rahman of Bangladesh on his arrival in New Delhi today, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on social media.
India and Bangladesh share warm and historic ties anchored in strong people to people relations, he said, adding Rahman’s visit will “further bolster” India Bangladesh partnership.
The relations between India and Bangladesh witnessed major downturn after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government in August, 2024.
The two sides initiated efforts to stabilise the relations after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, represented India at the inauguration of Tarique Rahman as the prime minister in Dhaka on February 17.
Rahman became the prime minister following his party’s landslide victory in the parliamentary polls.
In a statement, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said that Dhaka will emphasise “stability and continuous development of bilateral relations based on dignity, mutual trust and respect, and shared interests” during Rahman’s meetings with his Indian interlocutors.
“It is hoped that this visit will lay an important foundation for elevating the areas of cooperation between Bangladesh and India to a more fruitful and sustainable level in the future,” it said.
The focus of Wednesday’s meeting between the external affairs minister and his Bangladeshi counterpart will be to repair the ties and start a new phase in the relations, people familiar with the matter said.
The Ganga water treaty was signed in December 1996 that provides for a mechanism for sharing of the river water between the two riparian states.
It is not immediately known if the festering issue relating to the sharing of the waters of the Teesta river will figure in the talks between the two foreign ministers.
Another contentious issue has been Dhaka’s demand to extradite former prime minister Hasina. Hasina, 78, has been living in India after she fled Dhaka following the collapse of her government in August, 2024 in the face of a massive anti-government agitation.
The renewal of the Ganga Waters Treaty that expires this year, ways to bolster trade and Bangladesh’s request to India for additional fuel supplies in view of shortage caused by the West Asia conflict are likely to figure in the talks, the people cited above said.
It is learnt that easing of visa restrictions imposed by the Indian side, particularly for tourists and business people, may also figure in the talks. (PTI)
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